Etching apparatus



April 15, 1952 R. F. HAYMS ETCHING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-L-SHEET 1 Filed April 24, 1950 m z w 9% W April 15, 1952 HAYMS 2,592,693

ETCHING APPARATUS Filed April 24, 1950 SHEETS-SHEET 2 fad --4--4 of Fig. 3.

Patented Apr. 15, 1952 E'I'CHING APPARATUS "Raymond FJ'Hayms, Cincinnati; Ohio, assignor of one-halfto'Josepb'l. Pieper, Cincinnati,

Ohio

Application April 24, 1950; SeriallJoQlSZSll 7 Claims.

The present invention relates co-developing and etching apparatus and has as its principal object the provisionof a device for spreading a mordant or etching fluid upon the coated metal plates used in-oiiset and-deep etched lithography; or the Y like.

Another object of this invention is to provide in etching apparatus of the charactendescribed,

a mechanic'al means for reciprocating-"the etch ing fiuid spreader across the plate tobe etched with a continuous; circular action, said appara- --**t'us including ameans forflowing a controlled --vo1'ume f etchingfluid upon the platein the path ofthe spreader during op'erationof the ""-device.

A further object of the invention is toprovide in an etching apparatus having the foregoing characteristics a drain trough for catching spent, etching fluid after said fluid has beenspread on "the etching platefthe apparatus including a hood and an associated'exhauster for carrying off air --borne particles-and"deleterious" fumes arising from thesurface of the treated plate'and'the i trough.

I "()therobjectsor"theinvention will-be apparent I from the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,=- wherein:

Fig. 1 is a topplan viewer-the etching-apl1 'paratus of this in'vention.

'Fig; 2 is a-sectiontakenon line 2 2 oi-Figl 1, parts thereof being" broken away.

1? Fig. 3 is an= enlarged section takenoh line i asflof Figlbl "Fig. i is an enlarged section-takenon line @Fig. 6 isa section taken on line 6 5 'of'Figi 3.

7 l ne etching sink -of this invention is shown 1 in the "drawings bythereference numeral l, said sink having opposed side walls 2 and 3 and end walls t and 5 secured-together in' any suitable -ma nnei such as-by -tierods i. The tie rods-also s"eoure legs 8 to thefour corners ofthe si nkin the usual -manner. The sink bottom 9 is prefferably made of four triangular sections l) ioined along their adjacent edges and inclined downwardly irom the respective side and end walls of ithe sinhtowards a centrally disposed drain H.

n reetang'ular etching table 2 ispositi'oned upon l the bottom in spaced relation with the side and end walls ofthe sink and comprises a'irame l3 -spacecrrrom the bottom 9 by corner legs hi and oarryi-ng a fiat work"'suppor tingmember I-5.

' -oneendof the work supporting member '15 irons welded together at thecorners, said frame being 's'upported by pairsof Wheels- 225 in tandem which have rolling engagement with, and a are guided by, the rails 26 and 2! respectively. The pair of Wheels are fixed to the endsxof a is hinged at iii to 'one end of the frame lifwhilst the "other end of themember is supported for vertical movement upon laterally spaced cams l'il'I-fiXed on an' operating shaft 13 mounted between side membersof the table frame. side or the rod extends through the sink side One wal-l 2 and has a control knob 19 secured thereto "so'that the work support member can be tilted "for pu-rposes to be set out hereinafter.

Spaced, elongated'railsZii and 21 arem'ounted upon thetop' edges of the sinl; side Walls 2- and 3 respectively, said rails being secured to the sink by wood screws 22, or the like (Fig. 3). A carrier, generally indicated by the numeral 23; is

disposed between the rails 29 and 21 and'above the -etching table 2 for reciprocating movement between-limits of *motion determined by the end walls 4 ahd 5 0f the sink. This carrier comprises a re'ctangular frame 2& made from angle transverse drive shaft 21 which is journaled in suitable bearings 28-28 mounted upon side members 2929 of the carrier frame 2-3. As most clearly illustrated'in Fig. 3, the pair of wheels 26 are each fixed to the end of a stub .shait 30 secured to' the frame members 29-29 by clamps 3|. The carrier frame is guided for reciprocating, back-and-forth movement above the 'tableby means of upwardly extending flanges 32 and 33 formed on the inner ends of the rails 20 and 21 respectively. It is tobe notedthat the wheels are made of rubber or other resilient and frictional material to cushion any lateral vibrationset .up in the frame by operation of the brush andalso provide a good drive connection between wheels 25am the rails.

The reciprocating framecarries a pair of lat- 'erally spaced spur gears 34 and 35* which are "disposed beneath the frame'for rotatory-movem'entaround the vertical axes of their respective shafts36 and 37 respectively. As mostclear- "ly 'illustr ated in Fig. 3,-these shafts are" each journaled in bearings 38 and 39 respectively mounted between cross channels iiiand M' that are fixed at their ends to the frame members 29-49. A drive pinion iii is disposed between -thegea rsdd andf35 for meshing engagement therewith,=sa-id pinionhaving a shaft tt journaled 'in bearing li' which in turn mounted between the cross channels 40 and H. A pulley 45 is fixed to the upper end of the shaft 43 and is driven by a belt 45 engaging a pulley 4'! secured to the drive shaft of a reversing motor 43. The motor is carried by the frame and is suitably mounted thereon by means of brackets 49.

An elongated brush holder 50 is positioned beneath the gears and is preferably made from a solid bar disposed laterally above the table and pivotally mounted on eccentric portions of hubs and 52 for the spur gears 34 and 35 respectively. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the pivotal connection between the bar and each of the gears may comprise a bushing 53 seated in a bore 54 formed vertically through the bar of the brush holder 50, said bushing being adapted to rotatably receive the shank portion of a bolt 55, which is threaded at its upper end in a threaded bore 56 formed eccentrically through the hub of the spur gear. The brush holder may be spaced from the gear hub by a suitable washer 51 interposed between the gear and bar and encircling the shank of the bolt 55. The brush preferably has an elongated unitary head 58 in which the bristles 59 are set, said head being secured by screws 60 to a member 6| which is mounted by vertically extensible end connections 62 to the brush holder 50. Each of these end mountings, as shown in Fig. 4, are adapted to urge the brush 59 toward the table [2, said connection comprising a, pin 63 anchored at its lower end in the member BI and extending upwardly through a sleeve 64 cast in the end of the brush holder 50. A spring 65 encircles the pin and is interposed between the brush holder 50 and the member Bl to urge the brush downwardly upon the table. 7

The carrier 23 is traversed longitudinally along the sink by a drive connection between the reversing motor 48 and the axle 2! of drive wheel 25. This connection preferably comprises a belt 65 which passes over a pulley 66 fixed to the axle 21 and a pulley 61 secured to the upper end of shaft 36 for the spur gear 34. The motor is reversed when the carriage reaches either limit of its reciprocating motion by means of an electric switch 68 mounted on the frame, said switch having an arm 69 which is engaged by either stop or H which are positioned on the side wall 5 and a back wall 12 respectively for the sink.

Means for flowing etching fluid upon the surface of the plate to be etched in the path of the moving brush comprises a plurality of laterally spaced, flexible tubes 13 positioned on the frame by a set of valving blocks 14, said tubes having their discharge ends near the surface of the table l2 and their intermediate portions passing through bores in the blocks. The size of the openings in the bores are each controlled by a set screw I10 threaded in the block and bearin at its inner end on the tube which passes through the bore. By adjusting the set screw the flow. of etching fluid through the particular tube can be controlled and metered quantities of thefluid introduced upon the work on the table. All th( tubes 13 are connected to a tube header also mounted upon the frame in any suitable manner, the header being connected to a reservoir 16 mounted upon the sink by a flexible and extensible tubing 11.

The open top of the sink is closed by a hood 18 which may be formed by the upper extensions of side walls 4 and 5 which are connected to the back wall 12 and to a narrow top wall 19. opening is left in the hood which is closed during operation by door which may have a transparent window Bl therein so that the etching process may be observed therethrough. The fumes created by the process are exhausted through a pipe 82 communicating with the interior of the hood and connected in any suitable manner to an exhauster (not shown).

In operation the usual grounded plate 83 with the drawing out in the ground is placed upon the work supporting member l5 of the table [2 and the motor 48 energized in any manner. Etching fluid is then introduced into the flexible tubing 1'! and from thence flows upon the ground plate through nozzles '13. The brush will be carried back and forth over the plate whilst continuously describing a circular motion whereby the path of every bristle of the brush over the grounded plate will describe a series of connected loops 84 as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 6. This brush action effectively spreads the etching fluid over, and into the exposed parts of, the plate to be etched, all excess or neutral parts of the fluid flowing over the edges of the table into the bottom and thence down the drain ll. At the end of the etching period the motor may be stopped when the carrier frame 24 occupies the left-hand side of the sink, as shown in Fig. 1. The table may then be tilted by manual operation of the knob I8 so that a suitable cleaning fluid may be introduced upon the copper plate through the nozzle 85. This nozzle, attached to the end of a hollow handle 86, passes through opening 81 formed through a wall M of the sink. The holder is quite long so that the nozzle may be manipulated across the entire table, the cleaning material also flowing from the plate into the sink and thence down through the drain I I situated centrally of the sink bottom 9.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described the combination of a sink having a bottom, and side and end walls, an etching table supported upon the bottom and having a work supporting surface spaced inwardly from the said side and end walls, a rail mounted upon each side wall, a carrier disposed between the rails, support wheels mounted on the carrier in rolling engagement with the rails to provide for longitudinal, traversing movement for the carrier above the table, a pair of laterally spaced cranks positioned beneaththe carrier and journaled therein for rotatory movement around vertical axes, a transverse brush carried by the cranks and bearing upon the work supporting surface of the etching table, a reversing prime mover on the carrier, a drive connection between at least one wheel, the cranks and the prime mover, a two position prime mover control mounted on the carrier, and a limit stop disposed adjacent each end of the sink and in the path of the control for alternately actuating the control.

2. In a device of the class describedthe combination of an open-topped sink, a hood mounted upon the sink and extending over the opening in the sink top, an air exhauster connected with the interior of the hood, an elongated rail mounted on each side of the sink within the hood, a carrier disposed between the rails, support wheels mounted on the carrier and having rolling contact with the rails, a pair of laterally spaced gears beneath the carrier and journaled therein for rotary movement around vertical axes, a drive pinion journaled in the carrier for meshing engagement with both gears, an elongated brush holder subjacent the gears, means forpivotally mounting the holder to an eccentric portion on each of the gears, a motor mounted on the carrier, a drive connection between the motor and the pinion, and a drive connection between the motor and the wheels.

3. In a device of the class described the combination of a sink having bottom, and side and end walls, an etching table supported upon the bottom and having a work supporting surface spaced inwardly from the said side and end walls, a rail mounted upon each side wall, a. carrier disposed between the rails, support wheels mounted on the carrier in rolling engagement with the rails to provide for longitudinal, traversing movement for the carrier above the table, a pair of laterally spaced cranks positioned beneath the carrier and journaled therein for rotatory movement around vertical axes, a transverse brush carried by the cranks and bearing upon the work supporting surface of the etching table, a prime mover on the carrier for driving the wheels and rotating the cranks in timed relation, and means on the carrier for flowing etching fluid upon the working surface of the table in the path of brush.

4. In a device of the class described the combination of a sink having a bottom, and side and end walls, an etchingtable supported upon the bottom and having a work supporting surface spaced inwardly from the said side and end walls, a rail mounted upon each side wall, a carrier disposed between the rails, support wheels mounted on the carrier in rolling engagement with the rails to provide for longitudinal, traversing movement for the carrier above the table, a pair of laterally spaced cranks positioned beneath the carrier and journaled therein for rotatory movement around vertical axes, a transverse bar disposed beneath the carrier, a pivot means for securing the bar to each crank, a holder disposed beneath the bar, a brush secured to the holder, a vertically extensible connection between the ends of the bar and holder, means between the bar and holder for biasing the brush into engagement with the work supporting surface of the table, and a motor on the carrier for simultaneously driving at least one wheel and rotating the cranks.

5. In a device of the class described the combination of a sink having a centrally disposed etching table, a carrier, means for mounting the carrier on the sink for reciprocating movement above the table, a table engaging brush mounted beneath the carrier for circular movement, means on the carrier for flowing etching fluid on the table in the path of the brush, and a prime mover on the carrier for reciprocating said carrier and for actuating the brush.

6. In a device of the class described the combination of a sink having a raised, centrally located etching table, a carrier, means for mounting the carrier on the sink above the table for longitudinally directed, alternating movement, a narrow brush substantially coextensive with the lateral extension of the table and disposed in bodily contact with the surface of the table, means for mounting the brush on the carrier for circular movement with respect to the said carrier, means on the carrrier for flowing etching fluid upon the table in the path of the brush, and a prime mover on the carrier for reciprocating the carrier and actuating the brush.

7. In an etching device including a sink and a carriage adapted to alternate across the top of said sink, the combination of a lateral brush positioned beneath the carriage in engagement with the work table for the sink, and means on the carrier for mounting the brush therebeneath for circular movement with respect to the carrier.

RAYMOND F. HAYMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,741,658; Dobinson Dec. 31, 1929 2,036,232 Kinzler Apr. 7, 1936 

